1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to apparatus and method for the creation of various color prints based on a multicolor graphic original wherein manually adjusted controls are used to provide control data to provide such prints with such data being stored and automatically retrieved and applied to the apparatus for use in reproducing the prints.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,484 issued Aug. 24, 1971, has been embodied in commercially available apparatus to provide for the transfer of color material from a photosensitive intermediate to a receptive print sheet as a colored record of a colored original. The apparatus includes holding means for maintaining the original and the print sheet in mutually optically fixed positions with an exposure means provided for directing a light-pattern of the original toward the print sheet. Positioning means is also provided for placing the intermediate against the print sheet at the focus of the light pattern. After the intermediate has been exposed to the light pattern and with the intermediate in place, a developing means, which includes a source of electrically conductive radiation-absorptive toner powder with an applicator means, preferentially releases the tone powder at a high potential to the non-light struck areas of the photosensitive surface. The color material is provided on the intermediate adjacent to the printing sheet in a repeating sequence of adjacent color transfer coatings. Irradiating means, which may be a lamp, is directed to the intermediate inducing localized heating for transferring to the print sheet the color material for the color coating on the intermediate then positioned adjacent to the print sheet. The exposure means includes filters which are selectively placed in the light pattern to provide color separation of the light from the original. In the case of providing a true color print of the original, the color coating material presented on the intermediate must be the color complement to that of the filter selected. Accordingly, for true color print, the conventional primary colors may be used requiring a color transfer material producing a magenta image for use in conjunction with a green filter and similarly a yellow image material with a blue filter and a cyan image material with a red filter.
As is pointed out in the patent and implemented in the commercial apparatus available, colors other than those complementary to those of the filter and the color separation image may be supplied as desired. Accordingly, apparatus has been available which enables an operator to select the filter to be used with respect to the color coating presented or eliminate the transfer of a color material by deleting the development step for the color coatings by merely removing the high potential needed for releasing the toner powder to the unexposed areas. In addition, adjustment by the operator of the speed of the motor used to drive the irradiating means past the intermediate has been provided to control the degree to which the color material is transferred. The amount of color material transferred is reduced as the motor speed is increased since less heat will be generated for transfer of the color material.
The versatility of the apparatus as an artist's tool to provide synthesized colors in the print for the different colors in the original was realized and further changes were made in the commercially available apparatus to provide for overprint, that is, the print sheet is not removed after one series of color transfer coatings has been used with it, but is held in place for receiving colors from two or more sequences of color transfer coatings. Further, a set of speed controls for the motor driving the irradiating means, to provide a control setting for each of the three color coatings on the intermediate was made available with one such set of speed controls provided for each filter. The extent to which colors in a print for the various colors in the original could be synthesized was greatly enhanced with this arrangement. Having once created a print which is a "recoloring" of an original, it was desirable that provision be made so such prints could be readily produced in the future or perhaps on another machine at a different location. This was accomplished by having the operator make a record of the operating data input, i.e., various settings used for each set of three speed control settings. It was soon found that the resetting involved to provide the operating data input to the apparatus for repeating the created print from a given original was time consuming, subject to operator error in selecting the proper set of controls and subject to operator error in accurately setting the controls to the exact points that had been used. Further, it could be seen that some users might wish to have more than three sets of controls so a fourth or larger number of sequences of color transfer coatings might be used in effort to create a print which was some special "recoloring" of an original. This would mean adding still further sets of controls for each sequence of color transfer coatings operators might wish to use in arriving at a desired "recoloring" further increasing the task of re-entering the data with increased chances of erring when recording the color data and during subsequent use of the operating data when the "recoloring" was to be repeated.